Panel to Identify Strategies for Protecting and Insuring Coastal
Region
CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
To address financial threats posed to coastal areas by potential
changing climate trends, The Travelers Institute will host its first
coastal risk symposium tomorrow, October 30th, at the Maritime Center in
Charleston, S.C., in partnership with the City of Charleston, the South
Carolina Department of Insurance, H. John Heinz III Center for
Science, Economics and the Environment (The Heinz Center), Ceres and
the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of South Carolina. The policy
discussion will bring together business, government and community
leaders to identify strategies and solutions to protect and insure the
coastal region, an economic driver in South Carolina that supports
recreation, tourism and industry, as well as real estate with an insured
value of more than $190 billion, according to AIR Worldwide.
"We are pleased to host the first of a series of coastal strategy
symposiums in South Carolina, a state that has demonstrated a strong
commitment to public-private partnerships to protect its coast as well
as a dedication to coastal mitigation through the S.C. Safe Home Program
and a stable insurance regulatory environment," said Joan Woodward,
Travelers Executive Vice President, Public Policy, and head of The
Travelers Institute, who will serve as moderator of the lunchtime panel
at the Charleston Maritime Center.
"Effective and sustainable solutions for protecting the country's coasts
will come from the coordinated efforts of many and we in South Carolina
are pleased to help lead this important call for action," said Joseph P.
Riley Jr., Mayor, City of Charleston, S.C.
Panelists for the Coastal Risk Symposium include:
-- The Honorable Joseph P. Riley Jr., Mayor, City of Charleston, S.C.;
-- Leslie Jones, Deputy Director for Actuarial, Market and Alternative Risk
Transfer Services, South Carolina Department of Insurance;
-- Deb Callahan, President, The Heinz Center;
-- Sharlene Leurig, Manager of Insurance Program, Ceres; and
-- Eric Nelson, Vice President of Risk Management, Personal Insurance,
Travelers.
The symposium will address concepts from the recently completed Resilient
Coasts Blueprint, developed by The Heinz Center and Ceres, and
endorsed by The Travelers Institute, Mayor Riley and other leaders in
insurance, government, non-governmental organizations and academia.
"After years of spiraling coastal losses, business, environmental,
housing and government leaders are aligning in favor of practices that
protect human well-being, conserve valuable coastal ecosystems and
preserve insurable markets," said Sharlene Leurig, Manager of Ceres'
Insurance Program.
"A strategy to deal with increasingly hazardous coastlines involves hard
work rather than quick fixes, and the first step is building broad
consensus among local leaders, insurers, builders, conservationists and
those people living in vulnerable communities," said Deb Callahan,
President of The Heinz Center. "Fortunately, we've found wide agreement
that better decisions on where and how to build--and protecting coastal
buffer zones like wetlands--will make us all much safer and save us a lot
of money, too."
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the collective value
of coastal properties from Texas to Maine nears $9 trillion. The
blueprint outlines steps to reduce coastal risk with specific
recommendations that include:
-- Developing and implementing the necessary science and decision-making
tools to address potential climate impacts;
-- Requiring risk-based land use planning;
-- Designing adaptable infrastructure and building code standards to meet
future risk;
-- Strengthening ecosystems as part of a risk mitigation strategy;
-- Developing flexible adaptation plans;
-- Maintaining a viable private property and casualty insurance market;
-- Integrating impacts from potential changing climate trends into due
diligence for investment and lending.
"South Carolina commends The Heinz Center and Ceres for their blueprint
and looks forward to building on it by strengthening our coastal
mitigation program and maintaining a stable insurance regulatory
environment that will support the citizens of this state," said Scott
Richardson, Director, South Carolina Department of Insurance.
Also on the agenda is the Travelers
Coastal Wind Zone Plan, a comprehensive, private market approach to
improve the affordability and availability of coastal wind storm
insurance for homeowners. The Travelers Plan calls for:
-- A stable and consistent regulatory environment, with a uniform set of
rules applied to named wind coverage for coastal zones from Texas to
Maine;
-- Transparency in calculating insurance premiums;
-- Federal reinsurance mechanism for extreme events (such as hurricanes
causing losses several times greater than those arising out of Hurricane
Katrina); and
-- Stronger buildings through federal guidelines for appropriate building
codes and land use planning.
"With more than half of all Americans living within 50 miles of the
nation's coasts, and with many experts warning that warming ocean
temperatures may result in more severe catastrophic storms, an action
plan is warranted now," said Woodward. "It is time for the insurance
industry and the government to recognize the human and economic toll at
stake and create a stable, market-based insurance system that makes
catastrophic wind coverage available and affordable for residents in
coastal areas."
About The Travelers Institute
The Travelers Institute,
created by The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV), engages in
discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the
insurance marketplace and the financial services industry. The Institute
draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers' senior management and
the technical expertise of many of Travelers' underwriters, risk
managers and other experts to provide information and analysis to public
policy makers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of
property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more
information, visit www.travelers.com.
About H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the
Environment
The Heinz Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
think tank dedicated to improving the scientific and economic foundation
for environmental policy. The Center tackles some of the most important
environmental issues of our time by convening business, environmental
groups, academia and government. The Center's guiding philosophy is that
we must all work together to find lasting solutions to environmental
challenges and leave the earth a better place for future generations.
About Ceres
Ceres is a national network of investors,
environmental organizations and other public interest groups working
with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such
as global climate change. Ceres directs the Investor Network on Climate
Risk, a $7 trillion network of investors and asset managers that
promotes better understanding of the financial risks and opportunities
posed by climate change.
Source: The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Contact: The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Jennifer Wislocki, 860-277-7458
Cell: 860-391-2605
or
Erin Haberman, 860-277-3617
Cell: 860-305-9130